Believing in Magic

The Psychology of Superstition (Updated)
Erscheinungsjahr 2013
ISBN: 978-0-19-999692-6
Verlag: OUP US

Buch, Englisch, 328 Seiten, Print PDF, Format (B × H): 140 mm x 210 mm, Gewicht: 405 g

While we live in a technologically and scientifically advanced age, superstition is as widespread as ever. Not limited to just athletes and actors, superstitious beliefs are common among people of all occupations, educational backgrounds, and income levels.

In this fully updated edition of Believing in Magic, renowned superstition expert Stuart Vyse investigates our tendency towards these irrational beliefs. Superstitions, he writes, are the natural result of several psychological processes, including our human sensitivity to coincidence, a penchant for developing rituals to fill time (to battle nerves, impatience, or both), our efforts to cope with uncertainty, the need for control, and more. In a new Introduction, Vyse discusses important developments and the latest research on jinxes, paranormal beliefs, and luck. He also distinguishes superstition from paranormal and religious beliefs and identifies the potential benefits of superstition for believers. He examines the research to demonstrate how we can better understand complex human behavior. Although superstition is a normal part of our culture, Vyse argues that we must provide alternative methods of coping with life's uncertainties by teaching decision analysis, promoting science education, and challenging ourselves to critically evaluate the sources of our beliefs.

Zielgruppe

Those interested in superstition as a part of human culture, as well as scholars and students in human behavior, decision analysis, and science education.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Vyse, Stuart A.

Fachgebiete

• Sozialwissenschaften Psychologie Allgemeine Psychologie Sozialpsychologie Kulturpsychologie, Ethnopsychologie

Inhaltsverzeichnis

- Introduction

- 1. Believing in Magic

- 2. The Superstitious Person

- 3. Superstition and Coincidence

- 4. Superstitious Thinking

- 5. Growing Up Superstitious

- 6. Is Superstition Abnormal, Irrational, or Neither?

- 7. A Magical View of the World

Über Autor(innen)

Stuart A. Vyse is Joanne Toor Cummings '50 Professor of Psychology at Connecticut College.